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An autocrat can be beneficial or dangerous; it depends on the persona of the autocrat & the situation of the country – diversity, culture, size.
Autocrats range right from Lee Kuan Yew to Kim Jong Un. For every Lee there are many of Kim, Trump, Erdogan, Bolsonaro, Perot. Former is rare, latter are plenty. Apologists of autocracy use the example of Lee Kuan Yew to denounce democracy. They forget that Lee (educated in UK) had a deep foresight in economy & governance. He ensured Rule of law & social Harmony in a multiracial city state. Singapore has very strict laws & harsh punishments but they are applied uniformly to everyone without discrimination. In fact, these are the essential elements of good democracy that Lee imposed ruthlessly on Singaporeans for which he should be admired.
Pragmatic Sheikh Hasina crushed Islamist hardliners opposing her; she focussed on growth, while balancing between India, China & USA. Her prime opponent, Begum Zia, a much worse autocrat, could have ruined Bangladesh & become a headache for India. Hence, Sheikh Hasina deserves lot of credit though she could do better by being more democratic before things go out of control.
Many naively treat Autocracy & Democracy exclusive of each other (in a black & white world). Actually, they are a mix, shades of grey. Even in an autocracy like Russia there could be 10% democracy, which may rise to 50% in Bangladesh & 90% in some western nations. Hence each nation is given a score, class & rank in democracy. Freedom house USA writes in its latest report- US democracy has declined in the past decade, a matter of concern. That makes the forthcoming USA election very crucial.
History has tested contradicting political systems The best examples are East & west Germany, also North & South Korea. Pakistan lost its eastern wing because it could not manage its diversity, due to absence of adequate democracy.
Democracy has its checks & balances, reducing the risk to a nation; more so when there is vast diversity to be managed. Talent migrates from poor lands to rich lands that have fair amount of democracy. Indians try to migrate to US, even if they hate US policing the world. Financial credit rating of a nation is enhanced by higher rank in democracy which attracts foreign investment. An autocracy has its risks because not many have the vision of Lee Kuan Yew & India is too different from a city state Singapore, in size, diversity, history, culture.
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